POTENTIAL USE OF A SIMPLIFIED METHOD FOR DETERMINATION OF ITRACONAZOLE LEVELS IN PLASMA AND ESOPHAGEAL TISSUE BY USING HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY

A simplified high-performance liquid chromatographic assay was develop ed for determination of itraconazole levels in plasma and esophageal t issue in four patients with AIDS who had been receiving daily oral dos es of 100 mg of itraconazoIe in solution for at least 3 weeks for ther apy of esophageal candidiasis. Itraconazole levels were about three ti mes higher in esophageal tissue than in plasma (means +/- standard err ors of 0.69 +/- 0.50 mu g/g and 0.24 +/- 0.16 mu g/ml, respectively; P = 0.04). This method is quick (it requires only 1 h for completion) a nd sensitive (the limits of detectability for itraconazole in plasma a nd esophageal tissue are 0.005 mu g/ml and 0.01 mu g/g, respectively), and it can be reliably used in clinical and research settings (accura cy, >95%; absolute recovery from biological samples, 80 to 90%; coeffi cient of variation, 3.3 to 6.6%).